Invincible
by storm-brain
Summary: She was Zoe Nightshade. She was invincible. One-shot.


**For Zoe Nightshade Verita. We love you, Zoe. **

_Abandoned and alone, she leaves the Garden for what she thinks is the last time. __The sweet music of her sisters continues, just like it always has, only this time, there are four voices instead of five. Perhaps it's only her imagination that they are quieter, more subdued, more __mournful. And__ she leaves, knowing nothing about the outside world. She tries to convince herself that it can't hurt her._

A small voice in her head whispered that it didn't matter anyway, that they would go on without her, eventually forget her. That her existence didn't matter. But it did. She was Zoë Nightshade. She was invincible.

_She kneels before Artemis, accepting a new life, a new world. In one corner of her heart, she thinks of Hercules, the one that made her who she is. She tries so hard to hate him, but there is one corner, one corner that still cares. But, because it is over, __because her new family doesn't want to hear about that, __she hides that one corner under a wall so no one can get to it. __So that even she can't get to it. _

The emotions were carefully trained, hidden. There was still a whisper of dissatisfaction, that ache that something was missing, but she tucked it away. She was Zoë Nightshade. She was invincible.

_The huntress runs through the field. Her bow is out, silver jacket flashing in the sunlight. Dazzling beams are thrown from the silver band on her head, and it is clear that she alone would be able to take out this monster, even without the dozen others surrounding her._

There was no limit to what she could do, no way anything could take her down. She could have been bleeding severely from the head and still managed to defend her family, her sisters. Nothing could have beaten her. She was Zoë Nightshade. She was invincible.

_They surround the manticore. "Permission to kill?" Her voice is hard. In him, she sees everyone that has ever turned against her. Everyone that has ever betrayed her. And when her request is granted, she feels that stab of pleasure she always gets from taking out yet another enemy._

She thought that if she killed enough monsters, it would make up for all that she let slip through her fingers. And of course she could kill enough monsters. After all, she was Zoë Nightshade. She was invincible.

_She leaves Artemis with a heavy heart, a sense of doom. This will not end well. But she holds her head up high, she hides the pesky emotions deep, deep inside, because she does not want to hurt anyone with them. The rest of the Hunters must be safe._

They thought she was cold. She wasn't. She just couldn't make sense of what she thought. But she was Zoë Nightshade. She was invincible.

_She trembles in horror as she watches Artemis taken, unable to help. Unable to lift her bow to defend the one she loves most. She wakes, sweaty and terrified, and runs out to see Chiron. He must understand. He must let her go._

There had been a growing sense of doom, that time was slipping past her. But she ignores it. She has to. After all, she was Zoë Nightshade. She was invincible.

_When she hears the prophesy, she knows. She thinks she knows exactly what is going to happen. She is going to die. It's obvious, really. So why isn't she scared?_

Death. What was it anyway? Where would they send her? To Elysium, for her years of service? To Asphodel, because, deep down, she was no better than anyone else? Or to, Gods forbid, the Fields of Punishment? She didn't know. But part of her wouldn't believe it, because she was Zoë Nightshade. She was invincible.

_It is surreal, facing the dragon. She has missed him, so much. Even the life as a Hunter and two thousand years can't kill those memories. And then he attacks her. Her body reacts automatically, but her mind is screaming in disbelief. He attacked her. Her Ladon is trying to kill her._

Betrayal. Just like she never forgave them, they never fully accepted her. But she had a family in the Hunters. Blood didn't matter. She was Zoë Nightshade. She was invincible.

_And there is Artemis, looking so… defeated. She doesn't want to see this. She can't see her leader that way. Tears spring to her eyes, though she hasn't cried in centuries. Not since her family turned her away. Desperate, she tries to pull the chains off, even though she knows there is no point._

There was no point. She knew this was it. This was the end. But she kept fighting anyway, fought until the last minute. What was there to be afraid of? She was Zoë Nightshade. She was invincible.

_She lies in the grass, dying, her best friend and leader by her side. This is the end. She studies the stars, that she has always loved. The idea of being in the underworld without them is unbearable. "Stars." The most beautiful thing ever. Stars are constant. Stars are immortal, like she was but isn't anymore. There is no point in fighting, and she closes her eyes._

She was Zoë Nightshade. She was invincible.

_She shouldn't have worried. Her soul slips away, but instead of going down, it goes up. This is not death. She is truly living forever now._

Her life isn't the same, but she still hangs on. After all, now she is safe. She is Zoë Nightshade. She is invincible.


End file.
